5 Paleo Meals that Beat Whole Grains at their Own Game

One of the big claims of conventional nutrition advice is that whole grains are “superfoods” incredibly high in various nutrients – just look at all the fiber and B vitamins and antioxidants! But it’s easy to come up with Paleo meals that are even better than grain-based meals – without the antinutrients and other bad stuff found in grains.

To prove it, here’s a look at 5 sample meals: an easy workday dinner, a hearty salad, an office lunch, a soup recipe, and a breakfast. For each meal, there’s a whole-grain-heavy alternative, plus a Paleo option with equal or better…

Fiber

Total B vitamins (B1/Thiamin, B2/Riboflavin, B3/Niacin, B5/Pantothenic Acid, B6/Pyridoxine, and B9/Folate.). B12 isn’t included because this is about beating whole grain and B12 isn’t found in whole grains, only in animal foods.

Antioxidants

Technical notes, for the curious (skip this part if you just want the numbers):

Only nutrients relevant to whole grains are considered. For example, nobody is touting whole-wheat pasta as a great source of calcium, so calcium isn’t measured in the nutritional comparisons (but if you’re worried about that, you can look up 5 dairy-free meals with more calcium than a yogurt).

Nutrition information taken from the USDA nutrient database

1. Easy Workday Dinner

Need something quick for dinner? A big pile of brown rice with some protein and vegetables is a super healthy choice…until you put it next to a Paleo dinner! Take a look:

Antioxidant explanation: salmon is rich in the antioxidant mineral selenium; spinach and onions are rich in antioxidants like carotenoids and quercetin.

Tasty B vitamins, delivered straight to your mouth.

Unless you’re seriously deficient in thiamin, the Paleo meal is clearly the more nutritious choice.

2. Hearty Salad

If you ask most recipe sites, “grain salad” is apparently a legitimate category of recipe, even though some of them don’t even seem to include anything green. So how do they stack up to a salad made of actual vegetables?

For a comprehensive comparison, there are two whole-grain meals here. One is a traditional pasta salad that you might see at any potluck; the other is a healthified organic quinoa salad that wouldn’t be out of place at a vegan health food convention:

And when it comes to ease of packing, leftovers from dinner might also beat making a sandwich from scratch. Pretty much a win for the Paleo team here.

4. Hearty Comforting Soup

If you’ve ever tried to buy canned soup at a grocery store, you know how many soups put rice and barley and noodles in their recipes. Supposedly, all those “heart-healthy whole grains” make them more nutritious, but compare that to a Paleo choice:

On top of the fiber and B vitamins, avocados are also rich in healthy fats, vitamin E, and other nutrients.

Whole Grains Aren’t Necessary for a Balanced Diet!

Whole grains do have some nutritional content – this isn’t Wonderbread we’re talking about here. But it’s very simple to put together Paleo meals that match or beat grain-based meals in fiber, B vitamin, and antioxidant content. So now you have proof with specific numbers and even some recipes to go with them: nobody needs grains to get all the nutrition they need.

P.S. Have a look at Paleo Restart, our 30-day program. It has the tools to let you reset your body, lose weight and start feeling great.